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Beverly Hills Chihuahua Our rating: Your rating:   MPAA rating: PG (for some mild thematic elements) Genre: Adventure, Family Theater release: October 03, 2008 by Walt Disney Pictures Directed by: Raja Gosnell Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes Cast: Drew Barrymore (Chloe), George Lopez (Papi), Piper Perabo (Rachel), Manolo Cardona (Sam), Jamie Lee Curtis (Vivian), Andy Garcia (Delgado) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Ay, Chihuahua! Beverly Hills Chihuahua is better than its premise and trailer might lead you to believe. But not by much.

The film opens in, where else, Beverly Hills—a world of perfectly manicured lawns and people, of glittering couture and gleaming cars, of plastic credit cards and even more plastic bodies. It's also the place where people spend more on their dogs' wardrobes, clothing and jewelry than the entire gross national product of Morocco.

This is Lassie's world: all the dogs understand humans and some humans even speak a little dog.

Piper Perabo and Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore)

When we first meet the Chihuahua Chloe (voice of Drew Barrymore), decked out in a gleaming Harry Winston diamond collar, Italian pink leather booties and a frilly pink skirt, she is being dropped off at a doggie beauty parlor for a spa treatment. It isn't long before we see her back at home for a "play date"—lying out by the pool with her favorite dog pals all clad in an assortment of bikinis, dresses, berets and sunglasses. (As ridiculous as the scene looks and sounds, it would be funnier if it weren't also all too often reality.)

Chloe is one pampered pooch. She spends her days doted on by her wealthy owner Vivian (Jamie Lee Curtis), dining on steak and lying about on silk cushions. Chloe is so wrapped up in her over-indulged, pampered life that she barely even notices those outside her circle of coddled friends, including the amorous, working-class Papi (voice of George Lopez), who belongs to Sam (Manolo Cardona), Vivian's landscape gardener. Somehow, despite her rebuffs and haughty condescension, Papi remains devoted to his puppy Prima Donna.

When Vivian has to go to Europe on business and the regular dog sitter calls in sick, Chloe is left in the reluctant care of Vivian's flaky niece Rachel (Piper Perabo). Rachel and her friends decide to take a spontaneous trip to Mexico, and have no choice but to bring Chloe along. Unluckily, they promptly lose her, and to make matters worse, Chloe is dognapped by a canine fighting ring who is convinced that she will bring a handsome reward.

Papi, voiced by George Lopez

Chloe escapes from her captors with the help of an enigmatic, street-smart German shepherd named Delgado (voice of Andy Garcia) and together they set out from Mexico City to find Chloe a way back home. It is a perilous journey, bereft of Rodeo Drive boutiques. Here, on the mean streets of Mexico, Chloe will need to reply on unexpected newfound friends and an inner strength she never knew she had.

Unbeknownst to her, Chloe is the subject of an ardent south-of-the-border rescue campaign. Sam and Rachel are scouring the countryside in search of her, with the lovesick Papi leading the charge. But will they find her in time? Each day the coddled canine is lost, the chances fall. With a villainous Doberman Pincer (voice of Edward James Olmos), hungry mountain lions, and roving gangs of shabby mongrels standing between her and freedom, the odds of Chloe making it home in one piece are actually pretty slim.

There are so many talking dog movies, that they might as well have their own genre. Disney has certainly done well by them in everything from Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians to the more recent Eight Below. Say what you will about them, they always draw the crowds.

Part chase film, part road trip, part buddy comedy, and at one point, part Indiana Jones adventure, Beverly Hills Chihuahua makes the most of its expansive Mexican surroundings—

Delgado (voiced by Andy Garcia) helps Papi and Chloe

shooting in Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta and the awe-inspiring Sonoran Desert—to spin an imitative, contemporary Disney fairytale. It's easy on the eyes, soft on the heart and never really engages the head. But then, this is a kids' movie and the priorities are a bit different.

Technically, the CGI work is integrated nearly seamlessly with the live action footage. The dogs may be real, but their mouths and expressions are manipulated to give the impression of speech. The only two fully CG characters, a con-artist rat (voice of Cheech Marin) and his iguana sidekick (voice of Paul Rodriguez), give the film a more cartoonish feel. Oddly enough, Chloe, of all the dogs, seems the least believable.

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